1. Field of Invention.
This invention relates generally to packaging products and more particularly to laminated paper and shock absorbing material (or laminated polyethylene sheeting and shock absorbing material) packaging products which provide cushioning and clearance and also support and protection for articles in storage and transit.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
A variety of protective packaging products are used in the shipping industry and in other industries to provide cushioning and clearance for articles in transit. For example, Petriekis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,111, discloses two separate web units of corregated paperboard which are bonded together adhesively, scored, and folded to provide a protective corner post. Terrasi, U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,929 discloses a corner post construction in which a corrugated, laminated packing material is cut part way through and folded back on itself, with the uncut portion acting as a hinge. The claims require ply members of flat stiff corrugated sheet material. In addition, the patent suggests that the corrugations extend in a certain direction. A protective coating is applied to at least some of the edges of the corner post to protect the article from debris and the abrasiveness of the edge. Such a coating is less likely to be needed in the present invention. Suess, U.S. Pat. No. 2,692,720 also discloses corrugated packaging materials folded to provide corner protection: the claims require a multi-layered corrugated fibreboard sheet material. The design and shape of the object disclosed in Suess also differs from the present invention. Freedy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,609, appears to disclose a cushioning and packaging strip of at least two plies and which is peaked and slotted to provide edge protection. In its brochure on Sus-rap, it appears that linerboard is used. Freedy varies the slot widths and the thickness of the plies to accommodate various articles. The design and construction of the Freedy wrap is different from that of the present invention, because, for one reason, in the Freedy wrap the article rests upon the knocked-down material used in its construction of the top layer of the product, not upon the "base" of the wrap. Similarly, Bartell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,800., and Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,724 disclose the use of laminated cushioning sheets and bags, respectively, to protect articles in transit.
The present invention uses laminated paper and shock absorbing material (or laminated polyethylene sheeting and shock absorbing material) wrap where strips of the wrap are made by severing two layers of the wrap at distances from two edges of the wrap, making a hinge of the uncut layer, and folding the strips back to lie flat on the uncut layer of the wrap. A gap in which all or a portion of at least one article may rest while in storage or transit is thus provided. The article, or portion thereof protected, rests partially upon the base of the wrap when it is in the gap. Moreover, at least the layer of shock absorbing material is continuous, and the materials of construction have varying weights and/or thicknesses so as to accommodate different articles. The permissible variance in the construction materials of the present invention is probably greater than the variance in Freedy's Sus-rap as apparently only the liner board (and coating thereto) could be adjusted. The foregoing list of differences between the present invention and the prior art is not intended to be exhaustive.